Outdoor environmental factors and human epigenetic modifications

This thesis summarized and deepened the knowledge about the epigenetic impacts of air pollution, temperature and residential greenness. The review for air pollution identified 107 studies and many air pollution-related epigenetic markers. The review for temperature identified 7 studies only and suggested significant research gaps. In the three original studies, ambient temperature was associated with DNA methylation in multiple genomic regions, but the target loci varied by exposure window; residential greenness was associated with DNA methylation at multiple genomic regions, and the associations were modified by genetic variations; higher surrounding greenness was associated with slower biological aging measured by epigenetics.